Press Releases

Lagos Rejects Proposed Reduction In Constituencies
…As Fashola, Ikuforiji others attend fourth Exco-Legislative Parley

May 7, 2010 - Led by the State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN), members of the Executive, the Legislature and Local Government Chairmen as well as National Assembly members representing Lagos State on Friday at the fourth Executive/Legislative parley rejected any delimitation of constituencies that proposes reduction rather than increase in Lagos.

In a communiqué read by a House of Representative member, Mr Moroof Akinderu, at the end of the parley organized by the Political and Legislative Powers Bureau and held at the Golden Tulip, Festac, Lagos the participants said: "It will be unjustifiable to use the disputed census of Lagos which is still in litigation at the census tribunal to re-delineate Federal Constituencies especially in Lagos which is the economic nerve center of the nation as this will amount to an internal conspiracy against Nigeria's economic interest".

They also called for an abandonment of the proposed increase in VAT by the Federal Government in view of the suit pending before the Supreme Court, adding that any increase will not only increase the current burden on the citizenry but will be inimical to the economic growth of the nation.

The meeting also said: "The residual powers of State House of Assembly to legislate over tax matters not included in the Exclusive list remain inviolate. In essence, the Federal Inland Revenue Service Act should be amended to exclude those aspects of Personal Income Tax, Stamp Duties and Capital Gains Taxes in respect of which State Boards of Internal Revenue have been statutorily designated as appropriate tax authorities"

"The National Tax Policy should have due regard for the federalist principles of our constitution and jurisdiction of States Houses of Assembly over State and Local Government taxes", it added.

It was also recommended that there is a need to capitalize on the positive market fundamentals and economic indices that appear favourable to Nigeria as well as striking a balance between the expectations of the people and the political and structural imbalances occasioned by the census result which impact negatively on the State which should be challenged with vigour.

The parley also reminded that the benefit of the current outlook may be lost with the persistent inability of the Federal Government to liberalise the energy sector and judiciously utilize the fund derived from the excess crude oil to solve the energy crisis facing the nation.

The parley resolved that leaders must be resolute and espouse good values and always strive for excellence and be purposeful and visionary, with well articulated programmes and clear cut indices for measuring performance.

The communiqué also resolved that: "Leadership must be disciplined, accountable, transparent and exhibit a high level of integrity. There must be respect for core values which include respect for the rights of the Citizens as well as the right of the citizen to full information on governance".

It also identified free and fair election, suitable education for the electorate and training for leaders while exposing greed, corruption and dishonesty with appropriate punishment as critical values for the attainment of democratic growth.

The participants also observed that in pursuit of an even better performance for a new Lagos, it must safeguard the interest of Lagos, remain vigilant and active in the debates for constitutional reforms.

It was also agreed that good management practices in the public sector is essential to maintain the excellence that Lagos is associated with.

In his keynote address, the State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), renewed the continued determination of his administration to continue to push for sustainable economic growth through infrastructural renewal and development saying, however, that the completion of on-going projects would be treated as priority.

Governor Fashola, who recalled that he gave his assent to the 2010 Appropriation Law which appropriated a total budget size of N389.571 Billion, said in view of the decision to give priority to the completion of on-going projects and the general reduction in overall budget size, the capital/recurrent expenditure ratio for the year 2010 is 31:69.

"As we continue to demand efficiency in our revenue administration and push for IGR growth, it has become clear that we need some extra support, especially by way of domestic borrowing"', the Governor said.

According to the Governor, "In an overwhelming show of support by the investing public, the second tranche of our debt issuance programme was recently completed with a coupon rate of 10 percent and a 34 percent subscription", adding, however, that only N57.5 billion of this was actually allotted to absorb an additional 15 percent of the issue size as over-subscription.

Governor Fashola disclosed that due to the impressive IGR of Lagos State "and a most diligent servicing of the first tranche, the Securities and Exchange commission has waived the requirement of an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order for this second tranche", adding that there would be no compulsory deduction from the State's Federal Allocation in respect of the second tranche of the Bond Issue.

"With this show of support, we are confident that the 2010 Budget of Consolidation will enable us complete our several on-going projects, initiate new ones that are clearly essential for the benefit of our people and further improve the overall quality of life neighbourhood experience of Lagosians and our visitors alike", Governor Fashola said.

The Governor expressed joy that at the recently completed 5th Lagos State Economic Summit, the private sector and the investing public expressed confidence in the management of Lagos State and its very obvious prospects as a business and tourism destination.

"The Summit gave us the opportunity to get essential feedbacks from participants and to enlighten them on Government's policies and plans", the Governor said.

Attributing the successes of his administration to the collective efforts of all the arms of Government, Governor Fashola declared, "The widely acclaimed success of this interaction is another justification of the unshaken faith we have in the ability of this team, executive, legislative and judicial to make Lagos the model Mega-city in Africa and one of the best in the world".

"I think one of our greatest achievements is in the simple fact that we have thus far laboured together, in a spirit of team work and brotherly love, to discharge our respective but connected obligations to make life easier for residents, visitors and investors in Lagos State", the Governor said.

He added, "I take this as a matter of utmost importance because, as the old adage goes, team work divides the task and doubles the success. This is more so when, as in this case, achievement of the common purpose is so much more fulfilling and superior to any parochial aspirations which any of us might have".

Governor Fashola, who noted that conflicts are inevitable even in the most cohesive of organizations, declared," As we take our progressive strides in Lagos, examples abound within and outside Nigeria of fractionalized governments struggling to take even the smallest of steps", pointed out, however, that in all ages and across continent's conflict management has proved itself as a golden key to success.

"We must, therefore, take full advantage of this quarterly retreat of ours . It has given us the opportunity not only to know each other better, but also to coordinate our views on essential matter affecting the State and our dear nation".

Noting that the better the cooperation, communication and coordination the Government is able to achieve, the more efficient the team, Governor Fashola declared, "I hope this gathering will go a long way in further educating us about the challenges of the times and further promoting relationships among us here and between us and our staff members".

Also speaking former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who chaired the event and was represented by the Chairman of the Action Congress in Lagos State, Chief Henry Ajomale emphasized that it is very necessary to have interactive parleys between the Legislative and Executive at all times because it will help to consolidate the gains of Lagos State.

He said even in instances where there are misunderstandings, it is through similar parleys that such grey areas can be resolved.

While congratulating Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) for making the people and the party proud with his performance, he said the people must be united so that the government can remain focused.

He said every arm of government must be free to perform its constitutional roles without hindrance.

The Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji who also addressed the gathering described the event as a desirable forum especially with the presence of elected Local Government and Council Development Areas in the State.

He advised that the parley should hold at regular intervals, possibly every quarter, emphasizing that with such regular meetings issues that can create friction between both arms would be amicable resolved.

He thanked Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) for addressing some of the issues raised at previous parleys.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Political and Legislative Powers, Hon AbdulLateef AbdulHakeem said the parley regularly creates a unique opportunity the various political office holders of the State to come together for the sole purpose of deliberating on matters of State and national importance and coming out with a Lagos position on several burning issues.

He added that apart from strengthening the relationship between the two arms of government it also affords members of the State Executive Council members a strategic opportunity to rub minds with the legislators at the State and national levels.

Hon Abdul Hakeem commended the vibrancy of the State House of Assembly describing it as the best House of Assembly in Nigeria.

He revealed that over 111 life- changing resolutions on very crucial matters have been passed by the Assembly since its inauguration while 38 bills have been signed into law made up of three in 2007, 22 in 2008, 11 in 2009 and two so far in 2010.

In a lecture titled: "Adopting Best Management Practices in the Public Sector" delivered by the Pro-Chancellor of the Pan African University, Dr Christopher Kolade, he posited that some of the marks of responsible leadership includes a passion for high quality, a commitment to productivity and a commitment to good ethics.

He added a leader requires passion in the pursuit of good process to enable people to actualize their true productivity, adding that any leader who cannot affect ordinary people cannot claim excellence.

Others who delivered papers at the parley were Special Adviser on Taxation, Mr Ade Ipaiye who spoke on current tax issues for the attention of participants and an economist, Mr Ayo Teriba who presented a paper on economic outlook for 2010.